Chapter 12: Sacrifice

Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread or the Ace Combat series.

The Odyssey of Discovery: Gryphus 1 the Second Stage

Inside the training room Chang was engaging his former teacher in a mock battle, right from the start Ken was in complete control of the fight.

Chang throws hard punches but Ken blocks them and counters with a kick to the chest that knocks Chang off his feet. The young Chinese man gets up and continues fighting blindly, Ken knows why Chang keeps challenging him. The Usean grabs Chang's outstretched arm and flips him over Ken's shoulder and onto the ground.

Ken said, "Abandon this pointless need to defeat me. We both know the reason you're constantly facing me in these mock battles is so you can forget the lingering guilt after your team mates sacrificed themselves to save you during your time with the special forces. I have more experience in hand to hand combat, weapon mastery and dog fighting than you, Mori, Katherine or Kyle combined. I've been a fighter pilot since I was 18 years old. No matter how hard you train, you'll never defeat me."

Chang retorted, "I won't stop until I best you, Ken. You are the sole reason behind my desire to perfect my skills." The 29-year old gasps when he saw Ken donning a very stern look on his face as if Ken was disapproving his former disciple's actions.

Ken said, "You don't get it, do you? My fighting style is self-taught, meaning no one gave me lessons save for weapon masters teaching me the basics of wielding knives or some other weapon. You are so obsessed with defeating me that you're blind to see the real reason of living."

Chang frowned, "What do you mean?"

The Usean explained, "Your squad mates, Mori and Catherine. Don't you see the love and respect they have for you? You're their pillar of morale. Did you see how devastated they were when you supposedly died? No, you didn't. Nor did you see how elated they were to see you alive. They probably don't plan on being fighter pilots forever, they'll want to explore other opportunities before their lives come to an end. They might even want to start a family. If you don't cherish the love and respect they have for you then you'll be left behind while they continue onward in life." Ken turned his back toward the young Chinese man, "You disappoint me, Chang. I didn't teach you to become some revenge fueled idiot." He then starts moving toward the exit.

Chang stares at Ken's retreating form with balled fists, he charges at Ken.

Ken whips around with blinding speed and nails him right in the gut effectively halting Chang's assault. Chang falls to his knees clenching his gut it felt like Ken swung a sledgehammer at full speed and drove it into the young man's gut.

Ken said, "If you continue down this path of revenge, you doom yourself to a life of loneliness."

Chang glared at him, "What do you know of me or the life I've had? I rarely got the chance to experience the joy of childhood. It was mostly about school, studying for tests, etcetera." The Usean stands there quietly he asked Chang one time what his childhood was like and Chang said he didn't want to talk about it. Ken didn't press him from that point on.

Ken's eyes narrowed, "You're right, I don't know about the life you've had prior to being part of the special forces and later a fighter pilot. However, I've had my share of challenges. The Second Usean War was something I wished never happened. To me, all that bloodshed was meaningless. Weeks after I shot down Yellow 4 I felt regret because she was possibly Yellow 13's lover. Now I realize she was his lover." He shook his head to rid himself of the horrible memories, "My point is cherish the bond you have with your squad mates. I know you want revenge on the higher-up that set you up but if you don't balance it out you have no reason to enjoy life." With his point proven Ken exits the room.

Elsewhere, Dita runs through the hallway toward Reg Central holding a platter of rice balls. How she managed to keep the food on the platter was a mystery.

The door to Reg Central slid open and Dita said, "I brought you some food, Mr. Alien." Opening her eyes, Dita spots Misty feeding a sandwich to Hibiki while playing cards with Gascogne and Alex.

The blue-haired girl asked, "How is it, Hibiki?"

Hibiki replied, "Good." Seeing Dita, Misty gives her a smug smile which caused a tick mark to form on the redhead's face alongside puffing her cheeks out. Stomping over to the table, Dita rips the sandwich out of Hibiki's mouth and slams the platter of rice balls onto the table, Hibiki grabs a rice ball and starts eating it.

Misty asked, "What was that for?"

Dita retorted, "Mr. Alien hates sandwiches, he prefers rice balls instead!" The two glare at each other and lightning sparks between them.

'Lover's quarrel, it's so funny.' Alex thought.

Gascogne pressed the button on the timer and said, "Your turn."

Hibiki donned his best poker face, "Right, I need to focus." Stealing a glance Alex notices the Vanguard pilot struggling to keep his anxiety in check.

Dita looked at the timer, "What's this for, Ms. Gasco?"

The Reg leader said, "Hibiki takes way too much time worrying about this and that so he gets 3 minutes per turn. Also it's not Gasco, it's Gascogne!"

Hibiki mumbled, "She's so picky about every little thing."

Gascogne smirked at him, "Time's almost up, kid."

Hibiki snapped, "I know!" He showed his hand, "Look at this, pair of jacks." He flashes her a cocky grin.

Gascogne showed hers, "Full house." Hibiki groans.

Dita and Misty blame one another for ruining Hibiki's concentration.

Alex showed his hand as well, "No good on my end. Well, that's enough for me."

Gascogne teased, "What? Afraid of getting beat by a woman?"

Alex chuckled, "No, I just know when to admit defeat in card games. You have a natural talent for cards, Gascogne. Have you considered taking part in poker tournaments?"

Gascogne cocked her head, "Poker tournaments? What are those?"

The Aurelian shook his head, "Forget I asked."

Hibiki declared, "This calls for one more round!"

Gascogne gave him a knowing look, "You don't know when to quit, do you?" Inside the infirmary, Barnette takes pictures of Jura holding Ezra's baby in various poses.

Jura asked, "How do I look now? Stunning?"

Her dark green-haired friend answered, "You look fantastic, Jura! No matter what angle I take pictures of you from, you look like the holy mother herself!" The audience look at the sight with different expressions on their faces.

Jura smiled, "I know. I'm so gorgeous it's impossible to believe!" She laughs wholeheartedly.

Pyoro jumped and down while saying, "You should be more careful when holding a baby! They are more fragile than you are." The two women look at the white robot.

Jura gave him an irritated look, "Why must you be so annoying? I was only having some fun." She gave him the infant, "There, happy now?"

Pyoro glared at the Dread pilot, "Can't you be unselfish once in a while?" She placed Sara in the crib, "There we go. Time to take a nap!"

Jura squealed, "She's so cute! I can't wait to have one myself!" Barnette stares at her with a face fault, Jura was hellbent of having a baby with a man.

Paiway said, "She doesn't speak at all."

Duero explained, "She's only a few days old so she can't see things clearly. It'll be a while before she can, in any case I find the baby to be interesting." Being a doctor, it was only natural for him to curious about something new.

Pyoro yelled, "She's not the baby! She's Pyoro 2!"

Ezra giggled, "Silly Pyoro, her name is Sara."

Parfet asked, "So it's Sara, huh?"

Ezra nodded, "Yep, Kyle wanted me to name her that in memory of her second sister."

Pyoro declared, "I'm calling her Pyoro 2, end of story!" He suddenly gets bonked on the head, driving his face into the floor moaning in pain.

Kyle said, "Ezra's baby is a human, not some damn robot. How many times do I have to say it?" The alarm on the Nirvana goes off as the ship's radar detects an enemy signature, the monitor pops up giving the bridge personnel confirmation of the enemy ship.

Magno stated, "That's a Harvest flagship alright."

BC theorized, "It is possible it's one of the ships that changed course following our encounter with the first."

Magno narrowed her gray eyes, "I guess we have no choice but to get them."

Inside Reg Central, Gascogne saw Hibiki pause the timer and asked, "What's up?"

The Vanguard pilot told her, "After we take care of the enemy, we're going to finish the game!"

Gascogne closed her eyes, smiling, "That must have quite the hand there." The Dreads, Vanguard, Tianlong and Gryphus Squadron and Mobius 1 takes off to deliver a restaurant quality ass whipping on the enemy. Hibiki combines his Vanguard with Jura's Dread to form Vandread Jura.

The formation was the regular with cube-types, Seed Ships and MiG-21s, 17s, 27 Fulcrums and F-14 Tomcats.

Misty gasped at the sight of the enemy formation, "We're going up against that?"

Magno assured her, "We've beaten once before, my dear. Experience has helped in building our confidence during battle."

Pyoro added his two cents, "We'll lure them close with Vandread Jura then wipe them out with the main cannon!"

Misty looked in confusion at first then smirked, "Sounds reckless but I like the sound of it. Everyone's really confident." The Seed Ships release cube-types.

Gryphus 1 arms the XLAAM.

The lock-on symbol turned red and he was about to shoot when Dita said all of a sudden, "Guys, look over there!" The pilots watch in shock as the cube-types fuse together to form a red version of the Nirvana complete with red orb-shaped in the center.

Hibiki gasped, "What?"

Jura said, "You're kidding me!" The bridge crew looked at the scene with utter disbelief.

Gryphus 2 asked, "Are you shitting me? First they were able to make copies of the Vandreads, now the Nirvana?"

Inside the helm Bart yelled, "Don't worry! It's a known fact that a fake is always weaker than the original!"

Magno said, "Calm down, Bart." Snapping of their state of shock, the Nirvana fighters engage the Harvesters.

Gryphus 1 barrel rolls through enemy gunfire and switches to the XLAAM, multiple locks appear turning red within seconds. He pulls the trigger and the missiles smoke the targets, Gryphus 1 automatically takes evasive action when 30mm bullets scream past the canopy. He turns his gaze toward his 4 o'clock and spots a group of MiG-21s approaching but Gryphus 1 refuses to give them any chances of hitting Fenrir. The military airplane executes a vertical climb, flips over and dives at them, machine guns blazing. The bullets tear through one of the MiG-21s like it was nothing and the enemy fighter explodes before Gryphus 1 turns his attention toward the enemy's comrades. The surviving MiG-21s split up like they were going to retreat but then come at him from below and above, readying a pair of heat-seeking missiles. Taken by surprise Gryphus 1 firewalls the throttle and pops flares to confuse the missiles' IR tracking system, whipping around he retaliates with XLAAM but the MiGs release chaff to jam the missiles' radar guidance system. Noticing the fighter jets executing the same maneuver, Gryphus 1 plans on using that maneuver against them. He baits them into coming close then lights up the afterburners, the MiG-21s end up crashing into each other.

Gryphus 2, Crux and Tianlong Squadron were experiencing the same thing, having to improvise tactics on their opponents.

Meanwhile, Vandread Jura charges at the red Nirvana.

Jura stated, "You guys are so annoying. Just you wait, I'll get every last one of you!" The red Nirvana charges up its main cannon and fires prompting everyone to evade, Hibiki groans from the sudden turn.

Meia gasped, "This pain."

Dita nodded, "It's just like before!" Barnette leads a group of Dreads against some cube-types, barrel rolling and firing their missiles. Vandread Jura uses the attack to close in, shooting down any cube-type that gets in its way via the discs and whip-like arms.

Magno commanded, "Bart, follow their lead."

Bart replied, "Roger that! You gotta surround them, Hibiki!"

The Vanguard pilot said, "I know that!"

Vandread Jura hovered above the red Nirvana and Jura said, "Commence holding!" The discs move to their designated positions and the red Nirvana and its allies soon finds themselves enveloped in the green shield.

Hibiki flicked his nose, "How do you like them apples?" The red Nirvana fires its cannon again that splits into multiple lasers taking all discs out and hits Vandread Jura, the pilots scream as the machine gets bombarded. Hibiki tells Jura they're toast if they don't separate then gasps at the sight of blood on his hand. It wasn't his, it was from an unconscious Jura. He grunts when the Vanguard gets hit again.

Barnette said in rage, "How dare you do that to Jura!" The dark green-haired woman shoots her Dread's lasers.

Mia ordered, "All units, withdraw immediately! That includes you, Barnette. What the enemy's doing is beyond what we expected. The best option right now is to pull back and regroup."

Barnette asked, "What about Jura?"

Gascogne's image took Mia's place, "There is no way you can win when you're this hot-headed. This is a direct order." Barnette snarls at her when she feels the Reg delivery ship towing her Dread.

Barnette slammed her fists on the control panel, "Jura." Upon landing Jura is immediately rushed to the infirmary, Duero places her on the operation table and hooks her up to vital monitors, cleans the wound on the blonde-haired woman's forehead then places an oxygen mask over her mouth.

Duero informed, "She's bleeding pretty badly. She'll be able to pull through but I'm not sure about the wound on her abdomen." Barnette looks on with concern about her close friend, she feels a hand on her shoulder turning her head she spots Mia smiling reassuringly at her before pulling the slightly older woman into a comforting hug.

Mia said, "Jura will pull through, Barnette. I know she will."

Hibiki requested Duero, "Treat her so that she won't have any scars, okay?"

Duero said, "Mejale's medical prowess will ensure that, Hibiki. Now then, it's time to treat your injuries."

Hibiki held his injured arm, "There's really nothing to look at, I just got a few scratches."

Duero told him, "That's something I cannot ignore. I need to look into your personal date so I can better treat you." Hibiki rips off the ID card and tosses it to him, Duero catches it and inserts the card.

The teen slammed his fist against the wall, "Damn it, all of this happened because I underestimated them."

Dita said, "But that's not true, Mr. Alien."

Hibiki snapped at her, "I'm not in the mood for that so shut up about it!"

Gascogne stated, "You don't have to take it out on Dita." The occupants spotted the Reg leader leaning against the doorway, "What happened to your usual good humor?" Duero tries accessing Hibiki's personal information but is denied with each attempt.

The Reg leader sensed the feeling of the atmosphere, "Everyone's gloomy in here. There's no point in staying here why don't you go back to your posts?"

Barnette asked her, "Why? Why did you refuse the delivery? I wanted to keep fighting for Jura's sake!" Gascogne narrows her eyes at Barnette's proclamation.

As the Nirvana continued retreating, Bart asked Magno, "How far do we have to go?"

Magno said, "Until we have the chance to fight back."

The bald man insisted, "All I want is to know is where we're supposed to go!"

Magno exclaimed, "I'm thinking about it! So shut up and stay on course! You're good at running away, aren't you?"

Bart sighed in resignation, "Understood."

Back in the infirmary, Barnette slammed her hand on the table, "Answer me, Ms. Gasco!"

Gascogne informed, "You'd be dying a fool's death."

The dark green-haired Dread pilot said with fear, "But we can't win without fighting and if we don't win we're all gonna die anyway!"

Gascogne calmly stated, "At that point the mission was a failure. It's the job of those behind the scenes to remind people how the show goes."

Barnette narrowed her eyes, "I wanna know how you can be so cold."

The Reg leader shrugged off the question, "You tend to make mistakes if you let your emotions rule you."

Hibiki scoffed, "Heh, it's real easy to remain calm if you're watching from a safe distance. For someone who watches from the rear, the feelings of those on the front line can never be understood." The Reg leader fully turned to him as Hibiki went on, "You always stand there with a smirk on your face, making sarcastic remarks about our failures. There's no way someone like you could understand those desperate to stay alive! There's no way someone like you would understand someone's pain!" Gascogne glares at him and one could feel the tension in the air.

The Reg leader stated, "Hmph, this so pitiful. What's the point in making excuses? I'll be as sarcastic as I want if it means we stay alive." She walked up to Hibiki and bent over to eye level, "If it makes you happy then go take all the chances you want after your life in the realm of the living ends. But you can count me out of that, I'll clench my teeth and make sure I survive through it all!" Seeing no point in staying, Gascogne leaves the infirmary.

Duero said, "Hibiki, let me tend to your wounds."

Hibiki lamented, "Sure."

Misty looked at the doorway where Gascogne was at, "Do you think she'll be okay?"

Hibiki said, "Don't mind her. There's no way someone like her could ever understand somebody's pain." What happens next takes everyone by surprise.

Eugene pinned Hibiki to the wall, "You have some fucking nerve insulting her, punk. She knows more about pain and suffering than you give her credit for, I can see it in her eyes. It doesn't matter if you're part of some country's army or the air force. Your life can end before you even blink, one mishap and you are done."

Meia added, "Eugene's right. We all lose someone precious to us eventually. It's important to cherish the memories we have of them." The Harvest fleet continues chasing the Nirvana, cube-types fuse to create Fakedread Dita, Jura and Meia before accelerating toward their prey.

Belvedere alerted, "The enemy's intercepting our intended course!" Fakedread Dita flies the observation window.

Bart asked, "What's this? It's like we are being attacked from all sides." Fakedread Dita fires its laser cannons at the Nirvana's star board side.

Magno grunted, "So the chase ends here." Gascogne steps into her living quarters and the door shuts behind her.

She grabs the metal stick out of her mouth and squeezes it, turning it into a key. Walking over to her nightstand where a music box stood, she inserts the makeshift key and unlocks the music box the interior was filled with some jewelry and a picture of her and someone else. A solemn expression forms on her face as she remembers the happy moments of her childhood.

She then heard the door panel beep and said, "Who is it?"

The voice answered, "It's me, Catherine. May I come in?"

Gascogne nodded, "Sure." The door slides open allowing the young British woman inside.

Catherine surveys the interior of Gascogne's room, it was the typical living quarters one would find on a military ship with some decorations.

The pilot walked up and peeked over the taller woman's shoulder, "I'm taking a wild guess and say that metal stick in your hand was a gift?"

Gascogne replied, "Yes. My older sister Rena gave it to me when we were kids. One day she led me to an alleyway and said it would be our little secret, she took out the metal stick and squeezed. I watched in awe as it morphed into a key. Life was great at the time but as we grew up, our sibling relationship became strained especially when the two of us joined the military. Our relationship became more like that of soldier and commanding officer. One time she scolded me about my lack of initiative and anger and ordered that I needed to focus. Things got worse after that. The next day a riot broke out, something about some military project. Anyway, one of the rioters breached the outer hall of the space station we were assigned to and the wall gave way allowing the powerful vacuum effect to suck anything inside the hallway out. A little girl was about to be sucked out when my older sister grabbed her and gave her to me, sealing the room off afterward. I told her I would call for help but she told me not to bother. After that she stated I was right about Mejale being our home then she said she didn't mean being so tough on me all the time. She next told me that she'd leave the rest to me. It became quiet after that and I knew she was sucked out of the breached hull. That was the last time we saw each other. I pounded on the door to the point where my knuckled bled, I then cried for hours. It was at this point that Magno found me. It was only a few centimeters away. One moment became an eternal farewell. If I had been calm, if I had been more collected..." Catherine felt similarities between Gascogne's tale and her own personal tragedy.

After her parents died, she was devastated crying for hours. Chang approached her and asked her if she'd like to become a fighter pilot when she did Chang brought her to Ken for training.

Catherine said, "I'm sorry you had to go through such an ordeal. Your older sister wouldn't want you be sad, Gascogne. I'm certain she wanted you to move on to live the life you wanted even if it was being a space pirate. What's important is to cherish the memories of you. She is still with you, Gascogne. In your heart." The Reg leader looks her shoulder to see the British pilot smiling at her sympathetically.

Back at the infirmary, Meia finished, "She knows more about sorrow than any of us do, Hibiki. And while we make a big fuss about it right now, for her it was a path she walked down long ago."

Hibiki sighed through his nose, "Fine, I'll apologize. Can you let go of me now, Eugene? Please?"

Eugene released him, "Very well. Be more considerate about someone's feelings next time, okay?" Hibiki hears Meia's communicator beep.

She answered, "Meia here, what's up?"

BC informed, "The enemy has surrounded us. There's no where to go."

Meia said, "I have all the pilots here."

The dark skinned woman stated, "Good but attacking without a strategy is unwise. We need a plan."

Hibiki interjected, "I got one. I figured something out while listening to your story." The pilots takes off and head to face the enemy.

Meia ordered, "Ignore the small fry, our real target is the mother ship." The red Nirvana fires the laser cannon but the Dread pilots dodge and Barnette retaliates with her Dread's wing lasers that smoke the cube-types in front of them.

Hibiki explained, "Somebody's staying, that is what gave me an idea. Getting inside and destroying it from the inside. That's the only way I believe will work."

Ken said, "Pretty gutsy of you, kid. If you screw up, you pay for it with your life." Hibiki combines his Vanguard with Meia's dread to create Vandread Meia.

Meia asked, "I understand the plan but do you think we can punch through the armor with our firepower alone?"

Hibiki said, "If we're gonna worry about it, we'll do it later." Meia blinks in surprise before smiling.

Enveloped in the aqua green aura, Vandread Meia plows through 3 Seed Ships as the rest of the Nirvana fighters provide cover fire.

The red Nirvana meets Vandread Meia halfway toward the Harvest flagship and transforms into a giant robot. Next it fires the laser cannon in a huge concentrated shot at the Vandread which made the machine take evasive action, Hibiki grunts from the sudden maneuver.

Gryphus 1 combines with Mia to form Amaterasu.

The silver colored machine aims its twin-barrel plasma rifle at a swarm of MiG-29 Fulcrums vaporizing them in an instant. Amaterasu spins around to slice numerous cube-types with its sword, hearing the missile alert Amaterasu raises the shield to block the missiles. It spots more MiG-29s coming towards it from all sides, no doubt trying to hit it with kamikaze attacks, Amaterasu braces itself and the Fulcrums slam into it. The resulting smoke cloud dissipates to reveal an undamaged robot. However it immediately gets struck in the back by Fakedread Dita's laser cannons, the pink beams tear through Amaterasu's armor followed by Fakedread Meia executing a hit and run attack. Spinning around, Amaterasu glares at blue and red Fakedread who glares right back.

Fakedread Dita and Amaterasu charge up their main weapon and fire at the same time, yellow-white clashing with pink for dominance. The beams eventually explode but Amaterasu doesn't allow Fakedread Dita to mount another offense because it fires the twin-barrel plasma again, Fakedread Dita dodges to the left. Without looking Amaterasu slams its shield into Fakedread Meia, the impact staggers the evil counterpart of Vandread Meia. Shaking its head the red Fakedread seeks to launch a second ramming attack when it's suddenly by the head and Amaterasu drives its knee into Fakedread Meia's chest numerous times before ripping the red Harvest unit in half.

Gryphus 2 hears the missile warning and evades, the HUD showing the projectile chasing after his F-22. He pops flares to shake off the heat-seeking missile. Executing a hard left turn, Gryphus 2 brings the Raptor to gun range and shoots the MiG-31 Foxhound with the M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon. The 20mm bullets tear the Foxhound apart.

He said, "Come on, you punks. That the best you can do?" Crux unleashes an EMP burst that disables the cube-types targeting him and smokes them with the AMRAAM.

The E-3 Sentry II dives to avoid a laser beam shot from Fakedread Jura. Crux gasps when he spots the evil green Fakedread closing in, breaking left but the Fakedread's pincer-like claws rips a hole in the Sentry II's left wing.

He alerted, "Bridge, this is Crux. My plane's wing has suffered a tear in it. Returning to ship for repairs."

Amarone said, "Roger that, Crux." However, the Harvesters refuse to allow him of doing so, cube-types open fire on the damaged E-3 prompting Crux to weave through gunfire.

Mobius 1 comes to his rescue, shooting the Tactical Laser on the remaining cube-types. Switching to missiles, he waits for the lock-on and downs them upon the missile locks turning red. He suddenly turns left to keep his Falken from being ripped apart by a radar guided missile from an F-15C Eagle. The enemy fighter aims its Vulcan Gatling cannon and fires even though Mobius 1 evades each round. Spotting another F-15C Eagle coming towards him from his 12 o'clock, Mobius 1 leads the chasing fighter and pulls up when the other F-15 Eagle was mere inches away from him. The two Eagles don't have enough time to escape and wind up crashing into each other.

Tianlong Squadron finds itself batting persistent cube-types and relies on team work to best them.

Barnette targets the red Nirvana, firing missiles at the monster's arm. The red Nirvana catches her Dread in its hand and starts squeezing, Barnette tries making it let go of her by shooting her wing lasers but they deal no damage. The enemy unit tightens its grip on the Dread the canopy window starts cracking and the red Nirvana turns its attention to who shot it. Barnette turns at the same direction to spot the Reg delivery ship joining the fray.

Gascogne grinned, "Was too much for someone who works behind the scenes?" Her ship gets attacked by Fakedread Jura followed by the red Nirvana driving its pointed hand into the ship as well.

Dita said, "No, Ms. Gasco!" The pilots watch in horror as Gascogne flies her delivery ship with the two attackers into the Harvest flagship, engulfing all of them in a fireball.

Barnette stared at the sight in horror, "Ms. Gasco. Ms. Gasco!" Gryphus 2 has an equally look of horror on his face, the woman he came to see as a big sister figure. The person he played cards with during his off-time sacrificed herself.

He said, "This can't be happening. Please tell me this is some sick joke."

A/N: Chapter 12 done.

Ken defeated Chang in their mock battle and warned him that if he continued down the road of vengeance, he'll doom himself to a life of loneliness while his squad mates move on.

Eugene scolded Hibiki on insulting Gascogne's understanding of pain and suffering.

Gascogne herself told Catherine her past and Catherine comforted with words of encouragement.

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Stay tuned for chapter 13.

Vader 23A